Commerce Township native films web TV show in Sweden

Actor/writer/director Danny Ward, 32, grew up in Commerce Township. He just produced a comedy pilot available for viewing on the website highlighterstheseries.com. Photo by Kristofer Samuelsson

When actor/writer/director Danny Ward first tried filming “Highlighters” — a new sitcom pilot he shot in Stockholm, Sweden — he was besieged by the universe’s “cruel sense of humor.”

“The original script was about nine pages long, a short film, written almost 10 years ago,” said Ward, 32, who grew up in Commerce Township and has lived in Sweden for the last four years. “I was living and working in New York. It came from the feeling we all have sometimes, that Murphy’s Law just won't seem to give us a break. I wanted to write something for my friends and I to produce that would be low-budget and fairly simple to film — those were the confines of our circumstances at the time.”
That was about a decade ago.

“We tried to shoot it at that point, but, well, the shoot seemed to be cursed by its own theme,” he said. “We had an actress drop out at the last minute; at the same time, the friend who was loaning us a camera, broke his camera; and I returned home to discover my upstairs neighbors had flooded their apartment, and my ceiling had collapsed under the pressure, ruining my bed, desk and about half my clothes. The script went into a drawer and remained there.”

Ward moved on to other projects. His most notable role was in the Independent Spirit Award-nominee “Four Eyed Monsters,” made in 2005. He has also starred in a slew of short films, commercials and educational films.

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“While acting, I got to fully become someone else. It gave me — and still gives me — a chance to fulfill and live out fantasies, fears, and anything and everything I or someone else might be able to imagine,” Ward said.

“I love art of all types. I paint, I write, I wish I could sing, but my dad holds most the talent there. With acting, however, every part of me is the brush, the canvas, the ink, the paper. ... It is creating not a work of art but a life. For me, there's nothing that compares to that feeling. ...

“And it's fun. I get to play dress-up for a living. Who wouldn't love it?”

Nonetheless, Ward wasn’t done with “Highlighters.” He would rework it, never able to let it go for too long.

In 2009, Ward moved to Sweden to pursue a love interest. While there, he discovered the strength of the Swedish film industry, particularly in Stockholm, which he says is ripe with opportunity and talent. Not as much focus is put on the profit or the business end of the industry; there’s more passion and appreciation for the work.

“I considered returning to the States for production, but saw the trend of Swedes blowing up in Hollywood and realized how much opportunity was already being left behind in Sweden,” Ward said.

“The market there is different from the U.S. market. It's such a tight-knit group. It's small and difficult to work your way into. But once you work on a couple of indie projects there, you start getting calls asking and hiring you to help out on another film or show, then another, then another. I was so excited to keep that chain going. I had met a great group of actors and crew members that I was excited to work with again.”

After starring in “Stockholm Bloodbath,” a soon-to-be-released low-budget horror movie, he decided to give “Highlighters” another go. He showed the script to “Bloodbath” co-star Patrick Saxe.

“(Saxe) loved the part and encouraged me to produce it,” Ward said. “I felt enough time had gone by since the first failed attempt. And I was itching to produce something of my own. So, I started raising money and before I knew it we were shooting. And this time, it could not have gone better.”

Besides Ward and Saxe, the cast features Emmeli Johansson Stjärnfeldt and Anna Brodd.
Ward directed the pilot with a budget of around $3,500, raised on Indie-Go-Go, through local events and from Ward’s own pocket. The pilot was released on Dec. 23.

The series is a dark comedy. The official website describes it thusly:

Jeremy is the walking embodiment of Murphy's Law. Nothing ever goes his way. So, one night, his two best friends — the perfect couple — take him out for a drink, and instead of telling him everything will get better as they usually do, they poison his beer... And Jeremy couldn't be happier about it.

“I very much want this to remain a web series,” Ward said. “Not to say I wouldn't take a meeting with FX or NBC, but in my opinion, platforms like Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, Meredith, Scripps, and so many more are the TV of the future. We’ve seen how well online shows can do with the success of ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange is the New Black.’ I want ‘Highlighters’ to be accessible 24/7 everywhere in the world on any device you might want to watch it on — computer, phone, iPad, Kindle. Keeping the show online maximizes viewership. Obviously, Netflix would be a dream come true. Their reach and willingness to take chances is tough to compete with.

“But there are so many new online networks and more starting each day. I have confidence that ‘Highlighters’ will find a home somewhere great.”

FYI: Watch "Highlighters" pilot on its official website, highlighterstheseries.com. People can also follow “Highlighters” on facebook.com/highlightersseries.